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Jan 31, 2015

Saturday, Jan 31st, 2015, Ned White

Theme:

Words: 70 (missing Y,Z)

Blocks: 32

Phew~!
This one drained me mentally. The proper names and biology just did me
in ( I counted 17 in all ). First I had to switch to red-letter, then
Google, and finally to a straight up cheat. Oh well. Still, I enjoyed the
challenge, and I was thrilled to get a "mini-theme" on Saturday~! The last
time I had Mr. White for a constructor, I was in the middle of the summer bench
project (that's 41a.) - while I'm not interested in the hostess from there anymore,
I'm still hopelessly in love with the blue-eyed hostess. Anyway, one
spanner crossing one climber:

36a. School hallway warning : USE INDOOR VOICES

8d. Highway warning : CLICK IT OR TICKET - The national highway traffic safety admin's campaign to get you to wear your seatbelt; I always do. Some male driver humor here

And the "reveal";

62a. Things to obey, like 36-Across and 8-Down : THE RULES

ACROSS:

1*. Plant reproductive structure : SPORE SAC - I got the "C", which led me to "sac", and on from there

51*. 1965 Nobel Peace Prize recipient : UNICEF - I thought it might be this man, who just passed away, but his Nobel Prize was 1964

53. Vow taker : NUN

54. 8-Down and others : SIGNS - I have to admit, I have not seen "click it or ticket" as a sign; just the TV spots

56. A carve turn may be taught in one : SKI LESSON - Dah~! Dah~! Dah~! First, I read it as "Caught", and not Taught,
so I was stuck in the mental rut of carving wood, thus I was trying to
get "WOOD KNOT" to work - or something like that.

59. Bring forth : EDUCE

60. S-shaped sofa : TÊTE À TÊTE - aww, a kissing bench

61. Company with antlers in its logo : DEERE

DOWN:

1. Diets, with "down" : SLIMS - Ooops, went with TRims first

2. Bridge overseas : PONTE

3. Slated : ON TAP

4*. R&B artist Des'__ : REE

5. "As wicked dew as __ my mother brush'd": "The Tempest" : E'ER

6. 1979-'80 Fleetwood Mac hit : SARA

7. Food stabilizers : AGARS

9. Highway closer, perhaps : WRECK - yup, that'll do it

10. Highway lane, for short : H.O.V. - High Occupancy Vehicle; I think it's a colossal waste here on L.I.; a better solution would have been a zipper wall

32. How a stage line might be spoken : AS AN ASIDE - I got this, and it gave me some hope in the SW

33. Rabble-rouser : DEMAGOGUE

34. Champion of the common man : POPULIST

35*. Successor to Anwar : HOSNI

36. Not laughing : UNAMUSED

37. Brandy designation : VSO - Very Superior Old

41. 31-day mo. : JAN - on the first pass with no perps, could have been MAR, JUL, AUG, OCT, & DEC as well

44. Beaux-arts venue : MUSÉE - Frawnche

45*. Sports commentator Olbermann : KEITH

47*. Adams who shot El Capitan : ANSEL - ah, but I know this guy~!

48. Repeat exactly : QUOTE

49*. Novelist Hammond __ : INNES

52. Run : FLEE

55. Big name in bar code scanners : NCR

57. Tin __ : EAR

58*. Tommy Pickles' dad in "Rugrats" : STU

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Bill G, who has brought us lots of fun and uplifting links since he joined our blog. Whenever he sees a feel-good story via Barbara's Facebook or other sites, he shares with us immediately. Bill's posts are always cheerful and lighthearted, even his comments to those mean anons are polite. My heart aches with him for the tragic loss of his son Dan. I'm also very grateful for Bill's steady presence on our blog the past few years. The Comments section just does not feel complete without Bill's late night posts.

Grueling. All I can say. Sapped my strength. Very difficult clueing. Got through it even though there were several non-perpable and non-waggable crosses which required research. Thanks, CC, for including the informative Ned White interview; I plan to review it when I have more energy. Happy Birthday, Bill G. Thanks, Splynter. Another good learning day.

A very happy birthday to Bill G, and continued condolences. Today is my son's 10th birthday and Bill and his family will definitely be on my mind today as we celebrate.

Brutal puzzle today. On the bright side, I did eventually manage to finish unassisted, but only after making a ton of guesses that I did not feel comfortable about at all. There was just way too much obscure stuff and proper names for my taste. TETEATETE (clued as a sofa), INNES, REE, LEIBER, MALIK, TETRAPLEX, LONEEAGLE (total WAG), INTERRAIL (really wanted EURORAIL), etc.

There was certainly a lot to love in this puzzle (CLICK IT OR TICKET and USE INDOOR VOICES were fantastic), but it just wasn't a pleasant solve overall.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I have to go do some more shoveling...

I was sure this one was going the DNF route. The first two I felt sure enough to ink in were HONES and GECKO -- both of which turned out to be wrong. In the end, it came together right on schedule. My final entry was an alphabet run to get the D in IND/END.

I remember Jerry LEIBER very well -- everything except how to spell his last name -- I went with IE at first. Jerry, along with Mike Stoller, wrote some of the most memorable R&R songs of all time: Hound Dog, Jailhouse Rock, Kansas City, On Broadway, Love Potion #9, Searchin', Stand By Me, Yakety Yak.

Bill G, this probably won't be your best birthday. Hope you and Barbara are coping, somehow..

We've had some tough offerings lately, but this one trumps them all, IMO. So many guesses and too many sticking points with multiple options (Jan, Sara where I really wanted Tusk, Jut not Job, Educe not Evoke, Lieber, not Weiber and certainly not Beiber, etc...). The final fill was the M at the corner of Musee and Malik, and it was a complete wild guess, but at that point I was in "No mas!" mode. Took about an hour and while it ended well, I need a nap. Enjoyed the challenge, but Monday ease will feel very welcome.

Bill, this can't possibly be an enjoyable birthday, but do take as much solace as you can from your family and friends. You're in the thoughts of many.

Was it RTA or MTA; IBM or NCR; AETNA or DEERE; CUP or EAR; SECANT, COSINE or ARCanything; EVOKE or EDUCE, ANOLE OR GECKO (both wrong). The SE fell and CLICK IT OR TICKET was a WAG with 'KET'. Then the NW followed by NE. Finally got the SW but had a brain fart by writing ADDS UNTO , instead of UP TO. NO PURIST didn't seem correct and MALIK was a total unknown. Others solved by perps were RE E, EER, ERN, USO, HUD, SARA, EVITA and UNICEF.

It took three sessions totaling about 45 minutes just to have a DNF. Nice challenging puzzle.

Happy Birthday, Bill G. I hope you find some solace in family and friends as you mark another of life's milestones.¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫

Great job on the write-up, Splynter. I can see where the carpenter in you would have a different take on a lot of those clues.

I made slow but steady progress on this one, but had to leave that MALIK / UNICEF / KEITH area for last.

I also shot myself in the foot by confidently entering SKI "school" instead of LESSON. I used to have an antique TETE A TETE, so that was a gimme, and immediately filled in "can" instead of EAR at 57-Down. What a mess! What name could 58-Down be, starting with "ht_"???? I finally checked the crossings, and ANSEL helped get me out of the school fiasco.

Finished with no lookups or help, but went into overtime doing it. Thanks for the challenge, Ned!

Again, a puzzle overloaded with unknown names, but that's my failing not the constructor's. One thing that held me back was Lindbergh's nickname. LUCKY LINDY was stuck in my mind and though it didn't fit, couldn't change, until I cleared it away.

It was fun, though, to suss out CLICK IT OR TICKET and USE INDOOR VOICES. Boy, do I know that one!

Thank you for the challenge, Ned White and Splynter for the analysis.

BillG, have a good birthday and find comfort in the memories of years past as well as the best wishes of friends and family.

If I want to make a four layer cake, I cut two laters horizontally and end up with four (I hope) equal layers. SOOOO, I think this cake can be cut into two equal pieces, half, by cutting it horizontally. N'est-ce pas?

Somehow I managed to finish this puzzle w/o help, although it took one hour and forty-five minutes. I can't say I enjoyed the process, but I can say it was a challenge. (Mr. Silk remains my favorite Saturday constructor: tough but fair and, almost always, inevitably doable.)

Any questionable thoughts I may have had about Mr. White's devilish cluing/fill skills were erased after reading CC's informative and insightful interview. Besides, anyone lucky enough to live in our only one-syllable state has my vote! Thanks, also, to Splynter for setting us straight.

Although this won't be the happiest of birthdays, Bill G, I hope the thoughts and words expressed by CC, and shared by all of us who consider you our friend, will bring some little measure of happiness and peace to you.

This was a goat rope (what I've always heard it called.) It was fun to come here though, and read the interview and then get to the explanations. As soon as I saw the answers, I thought I should have known those clues. But since I usually break quite a few rules, I never evoked most of them and decided I needed some ski lessons and a sit down in my kissing sofa. Using my indoor voice, I say thank you all for the explanations and I'll even thank Mr. White for such a challenging puzzle. It's back to a touch of winter for the Black Hills. I hope all those one syllable readers here are not too sore from shoveling. Spring isn't too far off, thank goodness.

Well, in spite of my heroic efforts, this toughie got the better of me, even though I got ELSINORE and IRAQI and ANSEL early on. I eventually did get the top and a chunk of the bottom east corner, but the southwest totally eluded me, and I had to start cheating. But hey, that's what Saturday challenges are for, so thanks, Ned, and you too, Splynter, for the sympathetic write-up.

Bill G, a very special, heart-felt happy birthday to you today. C.C. said it best!

Done at last, done at last! What a test! The SE had to get me started and then bit-by-bit…

Musings-CLICK IT OR TICKET is the backdrop for UNL press conferences-We all carried WHETstones for our nursery knives-Our INTERRAIL trip was from Berlin to Munich overnight-My Baby loves WESTERN movies (2:34)-My first standing losses were TKO’S, Bring forth was BEGET,-Oh, Oh! I had PRESS ROW and so I’ll take two bad cells-I got ONE but Grandson had to tell me the state. Duh!-We know way more IRAQI geography now, don’t we-Collecting for UNICEF was part my childhood Halloweens-My favorite NUN and priest got married years ago-Both are ON TAP for tomorrow. God bless DVR’s.-The Great POPULIST was a Nebraskan-HBD to our good friend Bill. I hope your day is as good as it can be for you and Barbara.

This felt like a Silkie, at first I couldn't get anything and then slowly but surely got a foothold here and there. Halfway through my husband looked in and I said, "No way am I finishing this solo", but piece by piece finally got 'er done. Biggest mental block was trying to think of a person whose named ended in F rather than a group for the Nobel Peace Prize winner. Enjoyed the interview with the constructor, CC. Thanks Ned, and Splynter. And HB and continued prayers for Bill and his family

Another doozy! I had to cheat too many times to get the full satisfaction of completing it. But I credit its creator, Mr. White, with giving me a number of Aha! moments, C.C. for an enjoyable interview, and Splynter for a fine analysis and explanation. I enjoyed the link to Kronborg castle. It cued me to post this photo of yours truly standing in the middle of that castle in Hamlet’s Royal Court! Actually the castle was built long after the Hamlet plot occurred, but that doesn't stop countless tourists from wandering its halls and towers every year.

Very odd to see a theme on Saturday. Boy, did I screw up ! 28A I put LET, as in book(let), which made me think 24D was CLEANS for spruces(up).It only went down hill from there. Hands up for HONES instead of WHETS. For 27A, I though a passing event meant something to do with dying. Shows you where my head was at. A really big DNF.A good weekend to you all!

Very odd to see a theme on Saturday. Boy, did I screw up ! 28A I put LET, as in book(let), which made me think 24D was CLEANS for spruces(up).It only went down hill from there. Hands up for HONES instead of WHETS. For 27A, I though a passing event meant something to do with dying. Shows you where my head was at. A really big DNF.A good weekend to you all!

Saturday puzzles aren't my favorite but I turned on red letters and plugged through it. Out of curiosity, given two puzzles with clever cluing and excellent fill, one with a clever theme and one themeless, why might one prefer the themeless one?

Gary, the Superbowl/Downton Abbey sign you found seems to imply one or both are in poetry. Hmm...

The Google doodle was one wishing me a happy birthday! Very cool.

Thanks to CC and everybody for all of the birthday wishes. In a little while, Barbara and I are going to head out to one of our favorite restaurants, Il Fornaio, for a birthday lunch. I'll report back. Not the best period of time for us for a happy birthday but this will get our minds headed in a better direction for a bit.

Every time I am feeling down or a little bad about myself, I am going to go back and read CC's post and all of your comments over the last few days. At a time like this, friends really mean a lot. Thanks you all so much.

Pretty much WEES about the puzzle, except that I finish it, albeit with much red-letter assistance. I knew Zayn Malik through another puzzle site I haunt where I'd gotten him as a random selection

CED: I immediately thought of Mlle De's solution, but that's sort of cheating (and typical of a traditional riddle). One "trivial" solution would be a line through the points that are at the center of each square. But there should be a general solution for a cut starting at any point on the perimeter of the cake. Been out of school too long, so I'll have to think on that for a while.

Happy birthday, Bill G. Today will be difficult but I hope going to your special restaurant with your sweetie and your strong bond will help ease the transition to your new normal. You are both in my thoughts.

GOAT RODEO or GOAT ROPE are both new to me. I learned something interesting today. There are many things common to others that I have not heard of.

We had a really nice birthday lunch. We split an unusual salad (including avocado, arugala, capers and blackened shrimp), butternut squash ravioli and a thin crust pizza with mozzarella, ripe olives, ham and artichokes. They gave us a birthday sorbet and I had a café mocha. I needed a nap afterwards.

I tried watching "Grantchester" and I think I will enjoy the series. On the other hand, I seriously disliked "How to Get Away with Murder."

Thank you Ned and Splynter. Bill you're in my thoughts on this bittersweet day.

It was a day-long marathon session. I thought it hopeless after the first hour, but kept pecking away. Finally threw in the towel tonight with hideous NW an inky mess. It didn't diminish my personal pride on the other sectional victories.

When there's not bad weather or construction, CLICK IT OR TICKET messages are posted on electronic display boards on I-80 in Nebraska. They rotate with a message to report drunk drivers at #-555 (or some such number).

Whew! I'm spent after this one. Gonna do it all over again when the Sunday paper hits the porch tomorrow morning.

BillG.: Sorry, but that first cartoon you linked to went to the google page with all the couple million cartoons they've published over the years. No hint which was the one you tried to show us. Try again?